What is the Cloud?

The Cloud or Cloud Computing is an online tool for storing and accessing data and programs for your digital devices.

Although this service that most companies are offering nowadays it is claimed that it is one of the most popular services, we may find some advantages and disadvantages that we have to analyze here:

Advantages:

• Back up and Recovery: The process of recovering information is easy thanks to the creation of the Cloud as simplified since those now reside on the cloud and not on a physical device. Imagine you have lost our phone and you want to recover all your contacts, now it is easy to do it with this tool.
• Increased storage capacity: The cloud can accommodate and store much more data compared to a personal computer and in a way offers almost unlimited storage capacity.
• Smaller learning curve: Cloud applications usually require small learning curves as people are used to them. Even, users find it simple to use them.
• Quick deployment and easy integration: A cloud system can be up and running in a very short time, making quick deployment an important advantage. On the same aspect, the introduction of a new user in the system happens instantaneously, eliminating waiting periods.
• Cost efficiency: another biggest advantage of the Cloud is that it is in general available at much cheaper price than traditional approaches.
• Continuous availability: clouds offer services that are available wherever a user might be located. This approach enables easy access to information and accommodates the needs of users in different time zones and geographic locations. Moreover, collaboration grows since it is now easier than ever to access, view and modify shared documents and files.

Disadvantages:

• Security and Privacy: Security is the biggest concern when we talk about cloud computing. We give away private data and information, things that might be sensitive and confidential. So, we have to make sure and analyze the different services we have at hand. Similarly, privacy in the cloud is another important issue. Companies and users have to trust their cloud service vendors that they will protect their data from unauthorized users. The various stories of data loss and password leakage in the media do not help to reassure some of the most concerned users.
• Dependency and vendor lock-in: One of the major disadvantages of cloud computing is the implicit dependency on the provider. This is what the industry calls “vendor lock-in” since it is difficult and sometimes impossible, to migrate from a provider once you have rolled with them. If a user wants to change to some other provider, then it can be really difficult to transfer huge data from the old provider to the new one.
• Increased Vulnerability: Cloud-based solutions are exposed on the public internet and are the more vulnerable target for malicious users and hackers. Nothing on the Internet is completely secure at all.

Some Cloud utilities I use every day are the following ones: I store information in the Cloud from my mobile phone such as photos, songs, contacts and even Whatsapp messages. I also save documents from my computer such as emails or documents in this type of service. Another uses that I give to this type of tool is that when I want to share documents, photos or videos with my classmates or my friends, we share them in the Cloud. 

References:

• https://www.javacodegeeks.com/2013/04/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-cloud-computing-cloud-computing-pros-and-cons.html 
• https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372163,00.asp